1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to dispensers, and in particular to dispenser means defined especially for use in selectively dispensing game-play chips and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the course of play of games such as Bingo, poker, etc., there is a need to handle "chips" quickly; especially there is a need to be able to feed out or count out single chips, or the like, quickly and with a sure control of the number thereof being fed out or counted out. Ordinarily, taking the game of Bingo, as an example, game-play chips are dispensed by hand. That is, the player moniters his or her card(s) and, attending to the call-out of letter-number sequences, deposits chips on the play cards by feeding out the chips from a handclenched supply thereof through the dexterity and manipulation of the thumb and forefinger. However, most Bingo devotees are elder persons who, for having a diminished digital dexterity, are somewhat disadvantaged in the game play. What has been needed is a simple and efficient dispenser for game-play chips which does not rely on digital dexterity -- a dispenser, moreover, which can supply more chips than can be stored in a closed hand.
In the play of Bingo, too, it is commonly a practice to use a marking pen, rather than chips, to "cover" play-card(s) letter-number indicia. Accordingly, there has been a need, as yet unmet, for a device which will satisfy both the above-noted need for a simple and efficient dispenser and the concomitant requirement for a marking pen.